Please Help

[J1978]

hi there i have this serious problem if anyone could help, thanks in advance.

when i switch on my computer the first load window in xp pro comes up but then the screen goes blank and the screen tells me " No input signal..." to restart i have to cut power. somtimes windows starts normally and then after a few minutes dies again.just a few details ... i have 3 partitions c.. d.. e..
c is system i have just done a fresh install D and E are my backups docs, music, downloads, etc.i tried a chkdsk because i remeber recieving a message about drive E being corrupt it seemed to help. but the next time i restart crashesgain.I scaned with norton in safe mode dosen't find anything then i scaned for adware,spyware ,with three diffrent programs ADware se, spybot and spysweeper,they all found some stuff although i bearly had surfed since my new install.if u have any ideas..oh i forgot to tell u, thought it could be the graphics card tried a diffrent one dose'nt help either.

[HyperTF]

I could be wrong but it actually sounds like the monitor is playing up... I know this might sound wierd but that error message you get does the writing seem big and clumsy or it is proper font type text like you would see in a word processor

What sort of monitor is it (type and brand)? I am actually thinking it is the monitor possibly telling you this and not the computer. Can you plug another one in and test?

You could also try starting up the computer in safe mode and slow down the refresh rate in settings. You might not be able to get there but when you start in safe mose it goes back to very basic monitor settings which should allow access to diagnostics and settings, but if you can, I would try another monitor.

[J1978]

can the monitor freeze the computer to the point that i have to pull the plug to restart? when in safe mode ther's no prob stays on for a few hours.

[HyperTF]

are you 100% sure it is frozen as if the monitor is not receiving a signal there will be no image seemingly as if yuor PC has froze... assuming you only ever see a black screen!

[HyperTF]

can the monitor freeze the computer to the point that i have to pull the plug to restart? when in safe mode ther's no prob stays on for a few hours.
If this is the case unless anyone can correct me, slowing down the refresh rate in safe mode might just help you then! Though if you haven't adjusted it prior to this it might be a sign but worth trying... but if you can get your hands aon a monitor and trial it for a while, it will show you if you are in the right spot!

Why I believe it is a monitor problem is because the monitor is an output device, so the computer sends information to it and for it to say, 'no input signal' says to me that it (the monitor) is asking for something it isn't getting.

[bailey]

if the monitor displays no signal, then the video is not sending a video signal to the monitor, the computer is messed up, because if the computer was just locked up, you would still send the last video that was in ram, instead there is no signal,
monitor is ok, something is bad in the computer and killing the output of the video card.
more troubleshooting is required in this problem.

[HyperTF]

ok, I stand corrected...

[bailey]

what safe mode is:
safe mode starts the system without any drivers other that the standard vga driver that is built into the video card, and a very few that are needed for operation of the devices on the motherboard, but just the basic drivers.

so if it runs ok in safe mode, you can remove the drivers and /or change the setting in the display settings, then reboot normal, if the changes you made were the correct ones, it will run good

[J1978]

ok first of all thank very much for evreything.

As for safe mode apparently it does crash as well now.

i have the impression thhat the problem is software based. why?

a. because when in dos no promblems

b.i do a chkdsk finds errors on E for example i repair, and a bit later after a few crashes i do it again and it finds errors .

I think that after a chkdsk it seems to run for a few hours as long as i don't reboot.

is there any chance that it is caused by spyware, adware, virus, etc..?

[J1978]

if the monitor displays no signal, then the video is not sending a video signal to the monitor, the computer is messed up, because if the computer was just locked up, you would still send the last video that was in ram, instead there is no signal,
monitor is ok, something is bad in the computer and killing the output of the video card.
more troubleshooting is required in this problem.

what could it be?soft? hard?

[rjfvillarosa]

You said that you have tried a different graphics card, this is starting to sound more and more like a motherboard chip fault. Have you attempted to reset the bios using the motherboard jumpers or removing the onboard battery with the power lead removed?

[J1978]

You said that you have tried a different graphics card, this is starting to sound more and more like a motherboard chip fault. Have you attempted to reset the bios using the motherboard jumpers or removing the onboard battery with the power lead removed?

No i haven't tried.How do i reset the bios? and does it affect my data on the hdd?

[rjfvillarosa]

Do you have a manual for your motherboard? in the manual it will show you the little jumper that you move to reset the CMOS chip, if not do you know where the motherboard battery is?
Pull the mains lead out of the wall socket (with the machine switched off) and then remove the motherboard battery for half an hour or so, this has the same effect as moving the jumper.
This is going to reset your BIOS information to the original factory setting.

[J1978]

thanks i will give it a try.

[J1978]

HI i have tried most of all ur solutions but i am not getting anyware.

if u have any more input i'll be gratefull.

thanks

[Rick Hall]

Disconnect any and all USB devices and then try to reboot again.

[rjfvillarosa]

J... are you cinfident enough to start pulling things out and pushing bits back in to your computer?
I have a feeling you are going to have to get down and dirty with it, you dont mind getting your hands dirty do you? it's only a little dust....
First thing give me a complete list of everything that you are using.
Case, motherboard, Ram, CPU, Operating system, hard drives, optical drives and any addons like printers and what have you.
Is your machine a branded machine or a home build?

[J1978]

Hi ,

i backed up my hdd to another one even D, and E using third party software i wiped my drive completely then procceded on a clean install.
when i swiched on for the first time it did'ent even start windows and crashed
i did a chkdsk /p in the repair function on the xp disk, it found errors, i then did a chkdsk /r and now it seems to work but i think it is going to crash soon.
forgot to say that during all the time wiping install etc .. about three hours no problem whatsoever.

As for my exact specs this is what i get with evrerst


Field Value
Computer
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Professional
OS Service Pack -
Internet Explorer 6.0.2600.0000 (IE 6.0 - Windows XP)
DirectX 4.08.01.0810 (DirectX 8.1)
Computer Name HAIM
User Name Administrator

Motherboard
CPU Type Intel Pentium 4, 1600 MHz (16 x 100)
Motherboard Name Octek Rhino i845-A4P/M4E
Motherboard Chipset Intel Brookdale i845
System Memory 256 MB (PC133 SDRAM)
BIOS Type Award Modular (09/03/01)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM2)
Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)

Display
Video Adapter NVIDIA GeForce 256 (32 MB)
3D Accelerator nVIDIA GeForce 256
Monitor AOC Spectrum 7G [17" CRT] (11478415)

Multimedia
Audio Adapter Intel 82801BA(M) ICH2X/M - AC'97 Audio Controller [C-0]
Audio Adapter MPU-401-compatible

Storage
IDE Controller Intel(r) 82801BA Bus Master IDE Controller
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive Maxtor 4D040H2 (40 GB, 5400 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100)
Optical Drive IDE-CD R/RW 4x4x24 (4x/4x/24x CD-RW)
Optical Drive OEM CD-ROM F563E (52x CD-ROM)
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions
C: (NTFS) 24999 MB (22915 MB free)

Input
Keyboard PC/AT Enhanced PS/2 Keyboard (101/102-Key)
Mouse Microsoft PS/2 Mouse

Network
Network Adapter WAN (PPP/SLIP) Interface (212.235.50.197)

Peripherals
USB1 Controller Intel 82801BA(M) ICH2X/M - USB Controller 1 [C-0]
USB1 Controller Intel 82801BA(M) ICH2X/M - USB Controller 2 [C-0]
USB Device USB ADSL WAN Adapter

[J1978]

Disconnect any and all USB devices and then try to reboot again.


Tried that dose'nt help.

[bailey]

did your motherboard come with a cd that had drivers and inf files on it ?

[rjfvillarosa]

J... it seems to me like DOS is OK so I am thinking bad clusters on the hard drive, Maxtor do a really good disk diagnostic tool called powermax. You download it from their web site, install to a floppy then boot the machine with the floppy in the drive. How about giving that a try before we go any further?

[J1978]

did your motherboard come with a cd that had drivers and inf files on it ?

Yes i have the cd.i think so anyway.

[bailey]

you MUST install the drivers and inf files for the motherboard the first thing after the O/S is installed, and before any other software in installed

[J1978]

J... it seems to me like DOS is OK so I am thinking bad clusters on the hard drive, Maxtor do a really good disk diagnostic tool called powermax. You download it from their web site, install to a floppy then boot the machine with the floppy in the drive. How about giving that a try before we go any further?

I went throught the test left it on the whole night, it passed and stayed on,
Then i load windows an again after about 20 minutes in conks out again.
thanks anyway for ur help.
I am now going to try what Baley suggests but i haven't yet found the drivers and the inf files for my mobo.
I think the cd i have is very old so tried finding on there website to no avail.
I e-mailed the tech support,am waiting for there answer.

Just a question for baley. if the problem is a missing driver or inf file for the motherboard how come i have never had this problem before after clean installs?

[rjfvillarosa]

While you are waiting for Tech support for the drivers and .inf files, why not try a memory test as well.
http://www.memtest86.com/
Download the tool fromhere and run memtest just to rule that out of the problem as well.
I understand what Bailey is saying about the motherboard drivers but really and truly it should run reasonably with the windows generic drivers.

[J1978]

Ok guys

First of all thank you very much for ur input very much appreciated.

Apparently the motherboard fried i realy dont know why.

The Tech i showed it to said only fluctuations in the electrical supply can be the cause.

thank u all again.

[rjfvillarosa]

J... If that is the case then get your self a surge protector to save you from this hassle again. You might want to consider a more trustworthy power supply with the new board.

Richard.

[J1978]

HI there

Well here i am back in to play.

I got myself a Asus p4p 800 se am getting a surge protector as well just in case anyway thanks again for all ur input.